Hemp has had a bad reputation in the past because many people compared it to the cannabis plant.

However, unlike cannabis which can contain up to 30 per cent tetrahydrocannabinol — the principal psychoactive consituent of cannabis, industrial hemp has only 0.35 per cent THC. All hemp growers have to apply for a licence through the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and licences will only be approved with strict conditions, including making everyone signs a visitor book.

Mr Hiscox said the Government was slowly changing the way it governed crop production. “You still have to be licensed to grow this — because of the nature of the beast,” he said.

“This could be a huge industry here on the south coast if people wanted to diversify from normal agriculture.”

Mr Hiscox is a member of the Western Australian Hemp Growers’ Co-operative, which was formed in Bunbury in April.

He hopes his research and development of industrial hemp will help people in the community open their eyes to the crop and become more accepting of its use.